A story in the dark
by Kuro-Boshi
Summary: The children of the gundam pilots settle down for a fire side story, of a young pilot's life which is linked to a computer chip (FUTURE & AU)
1. All good stories must have an audience

Shadow: This story is owned by me. The characters, minus the original Gundam Boys, are all characters of my own creation. 

Note: === mean a jump from real time to the story.

Stories in the dark 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"well do you have an answer?" A youthful voice asked, making the silver haired woman turn.

"An answer… I've been searching for one for my entire life." The woman didn't seem old, dispite her silver locks, which hovered gently around her jaw level.

"Honestly…" The voice looked at the silver haired one, "It sounds as if you're trying to figure out the ulatmite answer to the Universe!"

"Oh, that's been solved for a while now Hun, it's 42." The woman chuckled and watched the youth's face falter.

"42?" he blinked, "What's the question?"

"Ahh, that's where the challenge lies… they never figured it out."

"But…"

"Leave it where it is, young one…" she chuckled, "some things are best left unknown."

The boy blinked and watched the woman; she was very light on her feet, as if nothing was keeping her down. "Umm... okay…" He looked at her face, which was looking off into the distance, _Maybe she's just light on her feet because nothing's in her head…_ he chuckled mentally, the woman looked at him. 

"Indeed…" She shook her head slightly, "well be a good lad and fetch me something to parch my dry mouth, and I'll tell you a story."

The boy perked up, "A story?! What's it about?" He stood up from his activity, which was building a model spacecraft, and walked quickly over to her.

"Ah, something which would make your mind reel." She chuckled.

"Oh?"

"Get me the drink lad… we don't have all night, and I'm not getting any younger..." _Or older, for that matter… _

"Yes mam!" the brunette boy nodded his head and ran to the door, "can my friends hear the story too? Nana?!"

The woman laughed and nodded, "A small crowd only, kiddo. WE don't want this story being known to everyone in the galaxy now do we?"

The boy smiled widely and ran out the door, down the hall to fetch his friends and a drink for his nanny.

The nanny sat down in her favorite chair by the large stone fireplace. With a push of a button the flames jumped into life and danced. She nodded and looked at the opening door, two very pretty girls walked in followed by four boys, which included her charge. "Mathew, did you get me my drink?" The woman smiled waving the small group to the seating area.

"Yes Nana…" The boy handed the woman a mug, "Tea, the way you like it."

"Ahh," she smelt the vapors, "Herbal tea… that-a boy." She looked at the group of children, no, young teens around her. Two were obviously twins, one of the boys and a girl, the both had the same look in the faces and the same deep cerulean blue eye colour. The other girl was a fair sandy blond haired lass, she chuckled lightly talking to the female of the twins. Next to the cerulean-eyed boy there was a fairly Asian looking young man, though his hair was a very light shade of brown, due to his mother's blond hair. The last one who currently had her young Mathew in a head lock was easily described as scruffy looking, but that was only because of his fly away hair, which was kept, for some unknown reason, in a short pony tail. He also had the most remarkable light blue, almost lavender eyes.

"Settle down lads… settle down." Nana chuckled lightly as the two boys took the couch on the right of her. The girls giggled excitedly, whenever they were invited to a story time with Mathew's nanny, something always happened. "Now ladies…" she smiled, winking towards them, "If yu'd please… I'd like to start the story…" the girls nodded.

"Nana, what's it going to be tonight?!" The scruffy one smiled widely looking at his best adult friend, "Something cool right?"

"Oh..." Nana thought for a moment, "I believe it is around that level…"

"Is it about love?!" one of the girls, the blond, squeaked.

"Aww no... Nana... not love…" 

"Oh hush now…" Nana laughed, "there is some love… but it might not be the type the girls are interested in…" this caught the group of ten year olds attention. "It's love between, man and…" she trailed off sipping at her tea, "Machine." The boys perked up, wondering what the story was about. "Lets get started, shall we?"

With the nodding of six heads eagerly, a last sip of tea, and a slight cough Nana dimmed the lights so only the fire lit the room.

"A long time ago…"

"Naaaaannnnaaa…." A few people wailed.

"What-o?" she blinked, "fine… In the not so distant past….."

"In that darkness… lies my answer…." A figure looked out of the window to the starry sky above.

"What are you talking about…." a young female voice shouted, making the figure from the window turn. "what do you want answered?"

"I don't know." The girl, who was looking out he window turned back out to it, "But my answer is out there… somewhere."

"You're a nutter…" the girl who shouted sighed, and went back to her doll, "No wonder you never stay long at a home… you weird them out!" She laughed crudely watching the stargazer's reaction, which was that they turned and stormed out of the room, "complete and utter nuts…" the girl sighed and brushed her doll's hair.

"I'll show them… I'll show them all…" The lithe girl, who was the stargazer, walked briskly down the hallway, "I'll get in a home… even if it kills me!" She stomped her foot onto the floor, stopping herself, and she looked up to the ceiling and shook her fist. "I'LL SHOW EVERYBODY!!!" She shouted, and continued down her stormy path to her dorm. 

-= Meanwhile in the administrative office=-

"She's a real menace… are you…" The head woman looked over the desk and looked at the man and his assistant.

"Yes, yes... I'm sure... when can I meet the little onna?" The man looked at the supervisor, more like through her, to the back wall.

"Umm… well..." The woman shifted uneasily in her chair and organized some papers. "I… we…" 

*BZZT* 

The woman looked at the little communicator, "yes what is it?" she looked down at the little P.A system.

"Mam..." A voice crackled over the aged device, "She's causing havoc again… she's scaring the smaller ones…"

"Oh no…" The woman looked gravely up to the two men, "tell me, where is she?"

"Third floor, Dorm. 3…"

"Thank you. We'll be heading up to collect her."

"You… you can't be…" The voice sounded completely shocked, "someone's here for…"

"Yes. Now get a warden to collect her things..."

The line went silent.

"Well gentlemen…" the supervisor stood up and walked to the door, "Lets get you acquainted to our little hell-raiser."

-= On the third floor, In Dormitory 3 =-

"Brats! ALL of you!" The girl stood on a tall set of drawers screeching at the little children. She picked up a vase of flowers and threw them as hard and as far as she could down the walk way between the beds.

Outside the ajar door, the tinkling of broken glass was heard.

"That's the seventh vase this week!" The supervisor rolled her eyes sighing.

"A destructive Imp isn't she…" the man chuckled.

"You don't know half of it… that's why we are… were, so surprised when you said you would take her in." She opened the door. "Chil-DREN!!" her voice rose a few decibels and the children stopped their activities and lined up by their beds ready for inspection. The hell raiser sat down on the dresser and started to kick her legs casually.

The three walked in, and started to walk down the pathway, the children started to whisper excitedly and giggle.

"Child…" she looked at the girl she looked up and smiled innocently.

"Yes Sir?" She blinked. Titters broke out among the near by girls.

"Meet Mr. …" she looked down at her papers. The man strode forwards.

"Si-ming." He smiled lightly and looked at the mischievous brunette. "Well, lassie, how would you like if you lived with me for a while."

The dark brunette looked up, her sea blue eyes met his gray. She looked at him curiously, "Why…" she looked at him, "You're getting paid to keep me?" she looked past him to the supervisor.

Mr. Si-ming laughed richly, "You think I'm getting paid to take you away? On contraire! I'm actually paying them!"

The girl shot back looking at his face, it had a rather nasty looking scar on his left cheek, but apart from that, he seemed pleasant, "Really?" she looked at him then the supervisor.

"Yes. He's here to take you home." The woman was stone faced and walked forwards and lifted the small body off the dresser. "And my god watch over you." She held her hand and led her down and out of the orphanage.

All her so-called 'friends' were standing by the doorway, including the girl with the doll.

"We'll see you in less than a month." She laughed wickedly and threw the doll towards the brunette. She shielded herself, but the doll never hit, Si-ming's assistant, who was introduced as John, had caught the doll. He looked down to the girl and handed it to her.

"I would keep a better grip on your belongings miss." He nodded curtly and walked out the door to start the small black-blue car.

The supervisor stood on the stairs and watched the car drive off. "I'll be praying… for both of you…" she nodded her head as the car turned the corner and disappeared from view.

"Sister?" the attendant looked at the supervisor, "Is there something wrong?"

"No…" she shook her head, "Let's get the children ready for dinner."

"Nana!!" Mathew shouted abruptly and looked at his Nanny, "Nothing happened there to do with any machines!"

Nana took a sip of her tea, not answering.

"All good stories must have a solid beginning." The Asian boy looked at Mathew, with a brief nod.

"That," Nana put down her tea, "Is very true. Shall I continue?" The group looked at her and nodded. "Very well then."

Almost a month had passed since Lili (pronounced: Lilly), the orphan's new name, had arrived at the stately house that belonged to Mr. Si-ming. Most of the time, it was John who looked after her, not her adopted father, for he was always busy with work now a days.

"Onii-chan…" Lili looked up from her breakfast, which she was eating from small table in her large room. John turned to her, she had called him that for a while now, and he quite liked it.

"Yes?" He looked at her and walked closer kneeling down so that they were on the same level.

"Where's Mr. Si-ming?" That was a regular question; the regular reply was that he was busy working.

John looked at her and pat her head, "I believe he's preparing something for you." He smiled, "Now finish up your breakfast."

Lili smiled, over the past four weeks she had changed from a destructive Imp, to a charming young lady, apart from a few personality traits, which we not lady like at all. 

"What outfit will you wear today, Lili?" John walked out of the closet carrying three frocks.

Lili looked up, "umm…" she looked at the three, "What would Mr. Si-ming prefer?"

John laughed, "do you always think of others before yourself kiddo?" he held up one of the three, "I'd think he'd like to see you wear this one, you only wore it a few times."

The girl nodded and stood up whipping her mouth with the bottom of her nightshirt. "Ok." She smiled up to her Onii-chan as he sighed slightly.

"Will you ever use the napkin…" He handed her the dress.

"What's a shirt for then?" She smiled and ran off to get changed.

He shook his head slightly and once again sighed.

Lili walked down to the main hall followed closely by John. She stopped on the last stair and he gave her a gentle nudge.

"We're going downstairs." He smiled lightly and opened the door revealing a long stairway.

"Onii-chan…" She looked down the staircase, "I never knew there was a downstairs…"

"It's where Mr. Si-ming works, his lab." He nodded down the stairs, "ladies first." 

She smiled slightly and started down the stairs.

"What has he got for me?!" She looked back John, he looked a little saddened. "Onii-chan?" She blinked.

"What? Oh, sorry," He laughed brushing back some stray black hair, "I guess I got distracted, what did you say?"

"What has Mr. Si-ming got down there for me?" She smiled as the two reached the bottom of the stairs, which ended at an elevator door.

"Oh…" He looked at the sweet girl, and pressed the button summoning the lift. "He assured me that it is fun, whatever it is."

Lili clapped her hands, "yay! I hope it's a game we can all play!"

"Me too…" he said slowly as the two entered the elevator, which plunged deep below the estate.

Si-ming looked up from his computer as a small alarm sounded, "On time as usual." He nodded, pulling the protective goggles from his eyes. He looked briefly at the dark mass he constructed, "This should be powerful enough to control her." He nodded to himself and looked towards the elevator and crossed over to it. The doors opened. "Come 'ere kiddo." He knelt down and held out his arms, Lili ran forwards.

"Onii-chan said you had something for me!" She smiled hugging him. "What is it?"

"Ah, It's a game which I've designed for you." He took her rather small hand and led her over to a contraption, which looked like a rather large pipe, with decorative lights on it.

"Ooo…" She looked at it in awe, "what is it?!" She blinked looking up to her foster father.

"Ah, it's a simulation pod."

"Si-moo-lation. Pod?" she blinked.

"It means you sit in there and the game becomes more life like." John stepped forwards, wearing a white lab coat like Si-ming.

"Cool!" She smiled, "But there's only one… no one else will be able to play with me." She looked up and tugged John's sleeve, "you won't be able to play with me Onii-chan…"

"I know." He nodded slowly and sadly, "It will only work for you."

"Huh?" She blinked.

"Let's get you suited up kiddo… you'll see what we mean when you start to play it."

"Cool a simulation pod!" The male twin's eyes sparkled, the rest of them nodded, the girls had to admit that it was cool, they were, after all, technology junkies as well.

"What does to pod play?" the female twin looked up, at Nana, "Nana? What did it play?"

The woman smiled, "Just like your fathers… and some of your mothers, I must add. They too are fanatics about Technology." She chuckled and looked around. 

"She was suited up in a matter of minutes…."

Lili stood at the hatch of the simulation pod she slipped in and sat in the rather large, but comfortable chair. She sat waiting, listening to the two outside the pod.

"Systems check." Si-ming said quickly while looking at a screen.

"All systems functional." John looked over his station at his employer, "professor, is this… right?"

"Right?" Si-ming almost laughed, "This child, assistant, is not like us at all. She possesses something, which no one could obtain. This." He picked up a glass casing and inside it was an inch by two inches computer chip. "She is no more human than the service bot." 

John looked over at him, and sighed, "Still… she looks so young, so innocent…."

"She is the LAST of the line. She slipped from the 'Collectives' grasp five years ago when the factory burnt down, we are NOT going to loose her again." He glared at his assistant, "you got attached to her didn't you."

"… Y…yes sir..." He looked at him and hung his head, "I was in charge of her for a month, it's hard not to, if your around her 24 hours a day…"

"Enough." Si-ming held up his hand. "This child is the last hope, she must be trained or she will loose her life when the chip finally activates itself." He looked down at his screen, "Scenario Selector systems operational."

"We're going to go lightly on her aren't we?" John looked up, his face paling looking at the pod.

"Close the hatch…" Si-ming looked up to his assistant. "Close it."

John sighed and pressed the jade button shutting off the outside world from Lili.

The small girl jumped hearing the hatch hiss shut and lock. "Onii-chan? Mr. Si-ming?" she sat in the darkness, whimpering slightly, "I don't like this game so far…"

"Sir!" John looked up from his screen, "there appears to be a spike in the readouts!"

Si-ming nodded, "she's afraid, it's a normal reaction for a seven year old…" he looked at the spike. "Patch a line through to her."

"Sir." John nodded and worked through a communications system. "She can now hear you."

"Lili?" Si-ming spoke into a head set which he had put on.

"Mr… Mr… Si-ming?" She cried lightly, "I… I don't like this game…"

"It hasn't started yet… let's turn on some lights shall we?" he pressed a button on his control panel and a few lights lit up on the outside and inside of the pod. "That better?"

John looked up, "the spike has disappeared."

"Ok, Lili… in this game, you're a big strong robot. You have to go destroy the bad guy robots." Si-ming started the program showing a Leo suit. "To your left is the thrust, the right the direction. On the directional pad, there are a various amounts of buttons, each do something, the red uses a beam sword in the right hand, the blue a machine gun in the left. The green button starts up your radar, that will appear on the left of your screen, the yellow dots are friends, the red dots are bad guys, your robot, or Leo is in the middle of the radar at all times."

"Umm…" Lili looked around the pod, "what's the button on the thruster thingy…"

"That is a special thrust to make you fly for a short time."

"Why do I have to play with robots?" She mumbled over the system.

"What would you rather play with… ponies?" he looked down at the screen and started to prepare a start up scenario.

"No…" She mumbled. "Can I come out now?"

"No." Si-ming said sharply, "you're going to be in there until you finish this level. Starting level." The communication broke off. The pod jumped into life.

Lili looked around, she put her small hands on the rather large controls, pressing the green button, the radar screen popped up, there weren't many 'red dots', but there wasn't any yellow ones either. The screen flashed, and beeped at her, making her jump, a few seconds later the pod was black.

"What happened?" John looked up, from his screen, it was flat lining.

"She died, obviously… reload the scenario." He looked at his assistant, and get me a coffee."

Hours passed, the young girl Lili was slowly getting the hang of things. She found out that every time she was hit by the bad guys, she was jolted by a shock of electricity in her back, when she died, the shock doubled in time and voltage.

"Sir, any more and she will be fried!" John glared at the professor who was rubbing his temples.

"You just watch the screen…" he sighed, and looked at his watch, 3 pm. The girl had been doing this for four and a half hours.

Lili was hit from behind, the shock she received hit something deep down. She grabbed the controls and turned, her Leo charged shooting off a barrage of bullets, destroying one of the four suits in the scenario. She changed to her sword and slashed downwards, splitting the suit into two, she turned, and charged at another, her normally blue eyes, were slightly green in the darkness.

"Sir! She's responding finally! She's taken out two! No wait! Three of the suits!" John shouted looking at the statistics, which was coming from the system.

"About time…" Si-ming sighed, "I was beginning to wonder if we had the right child!" he put down his coffee mug and typed something into the computer.

"Sir? You've just increased the amount of enemy suits." John blinked and looked up to Si-ming who nodded sharply. "I thought you said that after this…"

"Exactly, after this scenario is finished." Si-ming looked at the pod then at his assistant, "I decide when the scenarios finished." He sat down again and sipped at his cool coffee.

After another batch of enemies for her to destroy, Lili was finally allowed to finish the training session for the day. The hatch opened and John looked into it, the poor girl was asleep, exhausted from the physical pain she received and from the constant action. He sighed and bent to pick her up.

"If she's asleep, leave her in there." Si-ming looked up at his assistant.

"But…" he looked at the professor, "She needs food, liquids…"

"What she needs right now is sleep. Let her be." Si-ming looked at the box he was working on before the two had arrived in his lab.

"Sir what… is… that thing?" John stepped off the small ladder and strode over to the other man.

"It's the next step in her training, it will be the new console which will help her focus on the tactical side of battle and broaden her mind." He picked up a helmet that had wires sticking out allover the place, "when it is finished, this will slowly start up the 'D-chip', which is slumbering in her head." He sat down and started to work on the visor.

"Sir… what should I do now." John looked at him.

"Be useful… make dinner." He waved his hand towards the elevator. John glanced at his employer and threw off his lab coat and entered to go upstairs. 

Si-ming walked over to the control system and flicked a few switched, a crackling of the intercom told him that it was activated again.

"Lili... can you hear me…" he asked quietly.

One word was heard coming from the pod, though the voice sounded highly tired, it rung out clear as a bell, "More."

Si-ming blinked, _More eh… I'll show you more. _He smiled and pressed a button, the hatch closed. "Starting secondary scenario."

"Ooooh." The six looked at Nana, hooked to the words that came out of her mouth.

"A training pod…" The scruffy one nodded, "Very cool."

"She's only seven?" the blond girl held her hands to her face, "that's horrible!"

Mathew looked up, "what's the D-chip?" the two twins nodded to the question.

"Yeah what is this D-chip…" the Asian one looked up, "Nana-onna?"

Nana chuckled lightly and sipped the last few drops of her tea, "ah yes… the infamous and famous D-chip. Well you're going to have to wait to find out what that is aren't you." She chuckled slightly and lifted her mug again, "Oh my… out of tea…"

Mathew anticipated that, and he pressed a button summoning a service bot, which carried a pot of tea on a platter. "Another question…" he looked up to his nanny who was pouring herself some more tea, "Why did he compare her to a service bot?"

"Ah. Good question." Nana smiled and put the teapot back onto the tray, the service bot then put the tray on the table next to her and wheeled out. "Professor Si-ming compared her to a service bot because she was…"

"She was…" The six lent in eagerly to hear why.

"Where was I… oh, if we had something sweet, it would jog my memory…" She smiled winking.  The six smiled, knowing that, Nana had a very large sweet tooth and the fact that the sweet thing is always, homemade, triple fudge brownies. The woman stood up and opened the closet door, revealing a small fridge. She took out a plate and put it onto the table. "Now… Lili was compared to a service bot because..."

"She was mass produced." A male voice from the door spoke up. Nana turned and smiled. "I heard that there was a story being told." The brunette man walked in, he was around 30, though he looked slightly younger, with his shining eyes, and strange hairstyle.

"Hi dad!" The scruffy one waved.

"Heya kiddo… OOOH! Triple fudge brownies!" he smiled and helped himself to one, which turned out to be three, "You know my soft spot Nana." He chuckled, nudged her lightly, and sat down next to his son.

"Anyone who knew your name, would know your soft spot Duo..." she chuckled, "Now... where are the rest of them?"

"Rest of who?" Duo looked up smiling innocently. "I do NOT know what you're talking about Nana…"

"Ha, ha… so where…" She sipped her tea, "ah." She turned and looked at a closed door, "Boys… come out." She smiled and walked over to a door and opened it. There sure enough were four bodies. "If you wanted to listen into story time… you could of just asked." She sighed and led the four into the room.

"Father." The Asian two looked at each other and bowed respectfully.

"Daddy!" The blond jumped into the shortest man of the five, a blond Arabian man, who chuckled slightly, and sat down with his daughter on his lap.

"Hi dad." The twins smiled up to their father, he nodded to the two and sat down, his daughter promptly jumping onto him and holding a brownie to his mouth, which he was to eat.

Mathew looked up to his dad; he was looking at Nana as if having a deep conversation, but they were only using their eyes. He walked up. "Dad… wanna join to listen to the story? It's really good so far."

Trowa turned looking at his son and nodded. He sat on the arm of the couch.

Nana chuckled looking at the eleven. "Well then." She sipped at her tea, "will there be any more people joining us?"  The fathers smiled and shook their head. "Oh yes… I forgot, the mothers are on a cruise…" she looked at the group once more to make sure they were all settled.

"SIR! I thought you said…"

"She asked for more, I gave her more." Si-ming glared at his assistant. 

"This is inhumane!" John smashed the tray of food onto the desk, shattering the crystal glasses.

"CONTROL YOURSELF!" Si-ming roared, "She is an android! She can handle this type of…."

"Are you forgetting sir…" John snapped back speaking through his teeth, "that I am the exact same as her?!"

"You are NOT the exact same as her. You are defective. She, on the other hand, is 80% perfect." Si-ming crossed over to him and picked up a plate of food. "Now, go get me another glass of water. The broken crystal will be deducted from your paycheck."

John glared at his employer, "defective my ass…" he growled to himself as he went to get another glass for water.

Si-ming turned towards the monitor jamming a fork full of food into his mouth, "80% perfect now… but after my training, you will be unstoppable… my Doppelganger…."

-= 3 months later =-

"Happy birthday Lili." Si-ming smiled looking at the girl who crawled out of her cot. After the last few months of daily training in the pod, and staying in Si-ming's underground lab, the girl was finely being let out to celebrate. 

"Good morning sir." She looked up to her trainer, "Level 17 today?" She asked dully as if it was an automatic question, which it was, asked every morning when Si-ming woke her up.

"No. No training today. For a change you're going out."

"R…really?!" Lili jumped looking at him closely, "you're not lying are you?"

"Nope, he isn't." John walked into her little room and placed a rather long box onto her bed. "Hurry up and get changed."

The girl beamed, grabbed the box, and ran off to the bathroom to get ready.

"What was that."? Si-ming looked at his assistant.

"A birthday present." He smiled and slid on his leather jacket, "Will you be coming with us professor?"

"No. As planned you two are going out. I will be making a few adjustments to the pod." He walked out of the little room. John couldn't help but smile wider. "John, what is this? I didn't order breakfast or coffee."

"Oh, I thought that since I will be out all day, you wouldn't be eating until I get back." He walked up to the tray.

"I see…" Si-ming blinked and sipped at his coffee.

"Ready!" Lili ran out of the bathroom wearing the outfit, which was in the box. A pair of bootleg cut black pants, a white turtleneck shirt and a leather bomber jacket.

"Ya look great kid." John smiled and walked over to the elevator. "We'll see you tonight sir." He nodded and the two walked into their chariot to freedom.

Si-ming was left alone in the room watching the metallic doors close. The coffee cup fell from his grasp and shattered onto the floor, followed closely by the man's unconscious body.

"So." John walked out of the house followed closely by Lili who shielded her eyes.

"Oww… my eyes.." She hid her face from the light.

"Oh! Sorry!" he handed her a pair of dark sunglasses. "I told the professor that you should come outside more often..." he grumbled.

"Why?" The girl asked blinking as she looked through the dark shades.

"Your eyes have become accustomed to the darkness in that lab." He took her hand and led her down the stairs to the car waiting for them. "Wha-cha wanna do for the next two days?"

"Two? You said we'd be back by dinner…" She looked at him as he closed the car door, crossed over to his side and got in.

"Ah, well what the professor didn't know was that in his morning coffee there was enough drugs in there to knock him out until tomorrow morning. He won't remember a thing and thing that it is still today." The car started and moved out of the driveway. "So Miss. Lili, where to?"

The young girl squealed with excitement. "Anywhere Onii-chan!"

Just as the young girl wished, the two went everywhere and anywhere. From the Circus to the Zoo, no place was left untouched. On the evening of the first day the two pulled into the city.

"Wow! It's so big!" the young girl pressed her face to the window staring at the large buildings. The car stopped at a red light and the girl came face to face with a young Japanese boy with blue eyes. He glared at her coldly. She jumped backwards, the light changed and the car drove off, "Onii-chan…a boy outside my window…"

John laughed lightly, "Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about city children, they can be a tough bunch." The car turned into a parking lot. "Here we are, we'll be staying here tonight. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry…" A gurgling stomach answered him. "And I hear you are too! How 'bout we go grab some food. What would you like for supper?"

"Ice cream!" The girl jumped up and down grabbing her brother's hand. "Can we?"

"Hmm… I dono..." He scratched his chin for a few seconds.

"Pweeese?" Lili pouted, batting her eyelids and giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Sure why not. I can't resist that face." He chuckled and pulled her up onto his back. "We just don't tell Si-ming. Promise?"

"Yup yup!" The girl smiled and wrapped her arms round his neck.

The night passed on, the two ate Ice Cream Sundays in a small little desert bar, which wasn't too far away from the hotel.

"Onii-chan?" Lili looked up from her chocolate mountain, "Have you ever been off this colony?"

"Mm hmm." He nodded putting his spoon down onto his dish. "Why ya ask?"

"What's it like?" she shoveled a spoonful of brownie, cookie, fudge sauce and ice cream into her mouth.

"What's what like?" he sipped his drink.

She looked at him. And sipped at her milk. "What's the rest of the solar system like?"

He laughed lightly, "I haven't been around the solar system… only to the other colonies and Earth."

"That's what I meant…" she pouted.

"Well, It's a very large place, the space between us and our neighbors. Thousands of miles separate us, so that we don't go smashing into each other. The other colonies are a few years older than this one, and there's another colony which is still developing it's self."

" 'ow many 'ollo-ees?" she spoke with her mouth fairly full of disgusting amounts of chocolate.

"How many?" He blinked, the girl nodded. "Well… there's the Winners colony, our sister colony, X18999… about seven, including this one." He counted his fingers, "well.. That's all I know of."

"Sister colony?" she blinked.

"Yeah, it's the closest one to us and it was made around the same time ours was… People call it 04 for short."

"Oh." She blinked. "Why's it called 04?"

"I believe… that it was the 4th colony created… but don't quote me on that one." He smiled and picked up he spoon scooping up a little of her Sunday.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Shadow: well that's it for now. If you like it _or if you don't_ feel free to tell me so! I'm open to anything, even suggestions & ideas which I might work into the story.


	2. If that was bad, then this is worse

Stories in the dark 

-=-=-=-=-=-

Chapter 2 – The rise of the one called Doppelganger.

-=-=-=-=-=-

He lay in a puddle of red water. Red blood. There was someone screaming, it was herself, Her voice echoed around the walls in the small alley. Laughter rose behind her, she span around seeing only a dark figure sitting on a box, the were tossing a dagger up and down, "You're next." 

She screamed. Her body was wet with sweat, she looked around wildly, and a face appeared from the darkness.

"Lili?" John sat down at the edge of the bed, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

She looked at him, '_he's alive…' _She sat up, and nodded. She curled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She nodded again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He blinked. Moving forwards he touched her shoulder, she jumped.

"You…" She looked up at him her eyes filled with tears, "Onii-chan, you were dead! And there was an evil boy laughing. He held a dagger and said, _'you're next…' _" She shuddered. "I don't want to be next…"

John nodded and pulled the smaller girl onto his lap, he hugged her and rocked her gently, "I'm not dead… and you're not next. That was a pretty scary nightmare for someone your age." He kissed the top of her head, "For anyone, that would be scary."

Si-ming woke, "ugh…" he sat up, "That dam boy…" He growled and wobbled over to the controls, "Knocked me out cold…" He looked at his computer, "Planning to take Lili away from me, boy?" he laughed gruffly, "No one can escape fate." He picked up a phone and dialled a number, it rang, and rang… "No answer?" He blinked hanging up the receiver; he then crossed over to another machine and tried it. No response. "This does not bode well…"

"What doesn't," A calm voice asked far behind the professor. He span around, "Si-ming."

"Anna…" He blinked, "I though you were…"

The woman chuckled richly and stepped out from her shadowy cloak, her face was scared and burned, "I seem to have a knack at not dieing." She raised her arm; it was missing the rest of the limb after the joint in the elbow, "though it can be thought of as a curse."

"What happened...?" He looked at her gravely, "Did he…"

"Escaped."

"What about…"

"He's dead too."

"And his?" He looked at her completely taken back.

"She's with me. I found her." She nodded. "What about professor…" He shook his head, "My god…" She blinked, "And hers?"

"He's my assistant. The project was a failure with him." He shook his head chuckling lightly, "He slipped something in my drink, he seems to be against her training."

"Training? You mean you found her?" She walked closer and lent on the console.

"Indeed I have, she has almost natural fighting instincts."

"Is the chip functional?" She looked at him and picked at the cold food from breakfast that morning.

"There is evidence that the Doppler chip does work." He nodded, "Now where's your new girl."

By the morning, the nightmare was long forgotten. The two decided that they would head homewards due to the fact that they had done almost everything a young girl and her guardian could do in that city, well apart from stopping at a food vendor for lunch, which is what they did.

" 'nii-chan..." Lili looked out the window munching on the steaming food, "Why is no one smiling…" She pointed outside, towards the masses of people passing their parked car on the street.

"Well…" He looked outside at the people as well, "People haven't been happy for a little while now."

"Why?" she blinked, turning her child like eyes towards his face, "why aren't they happy?"

"There were some, bad, people who want to take over and rule the colonies… and that's what they did. People don't like being ruled, with no say in anything." He sighed and sipped his drink. "Though, there are people who are trying to stop them."

"Good." She nodded and bit into her hotdog, "Bad people should be stopped."

"Indeed…" Si-ming nodded, "Well Anna, you care free to stay here as long as you like."

"Thanks Si-ming." She nodded.

"Though I expect you to work for your keep." He wagged a screwdriver at her.

"Indeed I will." She looked at him.

"Mam…" a young woman appeared, carrying a tray of food, "Lunch is ready."

Anna turned and smiled at the girl, "Thank you Cesia, you can put the tray down here."

Si-ming looked up from his work, "And she cooks!" he chuckled, "it's a shame the chip only partially works…"

Anna shook her head, "It wouldn't have mattered if it did, she has no will or intention to fight."

"A shame, that is." He shrugged and helped himself to some sushi, "Though for a girl at her age to make a dish like this…" he nodded, "At least she's using it for something useful."

The two arrived at the manor house a few hours after lunch. 

"Now, remember, what's our alibi?"

"We came home early because…." Lili blinked, "Because… we ran out of money?"

John rolled his eyes, "No… because…"

The door opened, the two turned to face a woman, Anna, "Welcome back." She smiled at John then looked at Lili, "So this is our Doppelganger…"

Lili blinked, John stepped in front of the small girl. "Her name is Lili." He growled.

"In time she will recognise many names for her…" She turned, and motioned them to follow, "So, you're John." She looked at him.

He glared, "And who are you."

"Ah." Anna nodded, "Professor Anna Mineko. Please, just call me Anna." 

"Miss. Anna…" Lili tugged at her lab coat, "Where's you arm?"

"I lost it." She said shortly, "In a fire…"

John crossed his arms, "hm…"

The three appeared shortly in the lab deep under the manor.

"You," Si-ming stood up, "are exactly, eighteen hours and 13 minutes late." He glared at John.

"S..s..sir!" He swallowed audibly, "h..h..how?"

"You were never very good with chemistry… the drug you slipped into my coffee that morning breaks down with caffeine. Meaning that there wasn't enough to knock me out until today." He glared at him, "I am very disappointed in you. You could of gotten the girl injured, or worse killed! All because you wanted her to have fun."

"NO!" he shouted, "It's not like that!"

"You wanted her to not be like us…" another voice added into the conversation, the two newcomers turned, and looked at a young woman, a few years younger than John, one eye was green, the other purple, her hair was multi coloured, obviously died, and kept short. "But that's impossible." 

"No!" He glared at her.

"It is." She nodded once again, "She is not like us though, and she is capable of using the chip."

"Chip?" Lili blinked. Her question was not answered; she was left out of the conversation.

"Who…" He glared at her, "Cesia, Professor Anna's new ward. I was in the charge of another, he's dead now. I know all about you John."

"Oooh…" The young blond girl looked at the rest of the group, they were equally ensnared into the story. Even the adults.

"Hey, that almost sounds like you Nana." The scruffy boy, the son of Duo Maxwell, laughed slightly, "Well that Cesia girl… her eyes almost match yours, except that the eye for her is green where as yours is brown."

The grown men looked at her, she chuckled, "Well, the story teller can place themselves in their own story, can they not?" She smiled.

"So there were four people with that 'D-chip'…" The son of Heero asked while munching on the last of his brownie.

"That's interesting." His sister finished his sentence, nodding.

"Hn." He looked at her then away.

"John and Cesia can't be trained though." Matthew pointed out.

"And one's escaped." Wufei's son pointed out.

"Very true Wei, very true." Nana nodded.

"But… you said she was mass produced…" 

"True, Solo, so very true." She nodded to pony tailed boy.

"What happened to the others?" The two girls piped up.

"Well, Miss Dorothy Yuy and Miss. Isis Winner, you will have to wait and see about that." She nodded.

"Hn."

"And would Master Alexander Yuy refrain from 'Hn-ing', you're sounding more like your father every day, I don't think your mother would appreciate that much." She chuckled lightly.

"Out of our four thousand two hundred and thirty-six… only nine actually survived past the fire… and now… only four remain…"  Anna sighed.

Si-ming coughed, "Correction, three."

"No, four." She looked at him, "One may have escaped, but that doesn't count him as dead." She sighed, "Where did they all go…"

"Well, from our planning, we calculated that half would die within the first few weeks, then a thousand went when we inserted the chip, then a half of them died in the following year. During that un expected fire, five hundred died from that…" he shook his head sadly, "that was our main failure…"

"Yes…" she sighed, "Then over the next four year fifty died from the chip activating too early, leaving us with our nine wraiths."

"How did the three die…" Si-ming looked at her, "At that point I was working on our programs…"

"Ah, there was a bad bout of disease…"  
"Terrible." He shook his head. "Then we were raided, and our eldest two were taken out, defending us as we fled. That's when we lost our youngest."

"Lili." Anna nodded, "Your charge. I'm still surprised you found her after three years." She sipped at her drink and looked at a screen, "So, this is our girl's read outs huh."

"That they are." He nodded, "pass that flat headed screwdriver, the long handled one."

She put down her mug and passed him his tool, "And you say that she hasn't done anything like this before?"

"I told you Anna. This girl was at an orphanage, unless the nuns there were teaching their kids to fight…" he stopped working on a piece and looked at her, "I believe that she's actually using the Doppler Chip already."

"That's crazy, a girl her age, using that chip already? Every time we saw one of the lost ones use their chip they wither went berserk or they passed out after a nosebleed."

"Though there were some times that they controlled themselves…" he slid a welding shield over his face and continued his work.

"Mmh." She nodded, "they had that tell tail sign, their eyes changed colour… did we ever find out why they did that?"

"No." He looked up at her again, "But most were normal shades for eyes."

"Cesia's proof of the abnormal colours, her violet eye was from the chip activating. I'm surprised that John's eyes…"

"His chip is unresponsive. He's the oldest of the four that survived, and the only proof that he is a chip candidate is his amazingly fast processing skills and his speed. Has yours shown any other traits?"

"Well Cesia has this strange ability… It's like she can almost read people's minds."

"Ah." He looked at her, "She can 'read' people."

"Too accurately though." She looked at him, "you saw what she did earlier this evening, when she confronted John the first time."

"Indeed." Si-ming nodded, he tapped a few buttons and set the piece of computer hard wear down, "I wonder where Niiro is right now." He picked up a rather large helmet and started working on it.

"Niiro…" Anna clenched her hand, "He could be everywhere and anywhere." Her eyes narrowed remembering the blood red eyes of their second youngest surviving creation, "that bastard." She growled, "I hope he's very far away… I'll kill him for taking my arm…"

"Niiro did that." Si-ming looked up from his work, "hm. Interesting."

"Interesting my ass." She growled, as she stood up. "I'm going to bed, and you should to, remember you're not an android." She walked off, and disappeared into the elevator shaft.

"Nor is our enemy, but they continue to work… and so will I."  He nodded and returned to his contraption.

At the end of the driveway, to the estate where Si-ming's lab resided underneath, a motorbike stood, with its rider perched on top of it, looking at the mansion.

"So…" The voice laughed, the voice was light and airy, "We've found the mouse hole… and this cat is getting ready to pounce…" The rider pulled off his helmet and brushed back his white blond hair, he opened his eyes. Blood red. "We will be seeing you soon… yes we will." His smiled twisted to an evil smirk, "and then we shall see who is better…" He smiled darkly and put on his helmet, "see you soon sensei." He tapped his visor down and sped off on his bike.

Cesia woke. She sat up sharply in her bed and crossed over to the window just in time to see a light motorbike stop at the corner and then turn. Her eyes narrowed, and she placed one hand on the windowpane. She breathed deeply then turned towards the room again.

"What is it…." A sleepy voice yawned.

"It's…" Cesia blinked, "nothing, go back to bed." She turned and looked back out of the window.

"How come I do not believe you Cesia…" The body of the voice stood right behind her, and they placed a hand on her shoulder. 

She shook her head slowly, "I just had a dream…"

"Nonsense… you felt something…" They lowered their head to her free shoulder and rested their chin on it.

"What does it matter to you." She looked to the other person's shadow consumed face, "well?" She blinked waiting for an answer.

The hand and chin recoiled, "It matters because if it is someone hostile we are the only ones who can protect this place…" John stepped forwards and pressed his forehead against the window, "weather we like it or not." Cesia walked back towards her bed, "well, who or what was it."

She turned, locking her purple and green eye onto his; he crossed over towards her, "A phantom from our past." She sat down on her bed, and then tucked herself in.

"I see." He nodded and layback onto his, "Our younger brother?"

"I wouldn't call him a brother." She looked at him coldly, "we…."

"We are not blood relatives, true." John nodded, "But, we all share the same life style, we lived and grew up together…"

"That is also true." She sat up again, "But must I remind you that he was the one who killed off most of the professors?"

John sighed, "Fine. He is not our brother, he is Niiro." He then pulled the duvet onto him again, "I still don't know why we have to share a room." He grumbled as he turned onto his side and went back to sleep.

Lili jumped out of bed, the nightmare had yet again disturbed her sleep. She shivered, and looked around her cell like room. "No one can get me… It's ok.. no one can get me… It's just a dream…" her eyes continued to blot around the plain room, "Anyone would be scare of something like that…" She had convinced her mind, but her body still remained frightened. She lay down on her bed and pulled the thick blanket over her face. "go away! Leave me alone!" she mumbled, "I don't like this dream!" She tossed and turned trying to get the piercing red eyes out of her mind, eventually fatigue took over and she fell into a dreamless sleep.

The week passed by, Lili had discovered that if she trained hard the nightmare would not come. Si-ming was ecstatic with the girl's progress within a week with the simulator, Anna was also very proud of the young girl, but she was highly jealous of Si-ming having the only trainable child from the entire project.

"Lunch!" Cesia walked into the training room, with John in tow carrying a few trays. Even though the two had a rocky first experience with each other, they were now getting along perfectly. "John, trays down." He grumbled, and put them down noisily. 

"It's so nice to see you two working together happily." Anna smiled. John growled again. "Almost like a young married couple!" Both of them flushed furiously, making the older woman laugh. Cesia picked up a plate off one of the trays, and walked over to the pod. "Cesia, she's busy in a…"

The pod door opened. "Hi!" Lili smiled, "lunch?"

Cesia nodded, "out you come, young one." She waved the plate lightly, "Food and machinery do not mix."

Lili bounced out of the pod and sat at a desk, where she started eating. John looked at her sadly then picked up another plate and crossed over to Si-ming.

"Sir." He held out the plate.

"Put it down somewhere, and give me a hand." He grumbled, "I need some strength, this old body does not have anymore."

"Yes sir." He nodded and went to lift a few things.

"So Cesia," Anna smiled watching the young woman watching John, "you like him, don't you."

"Huh? What! Oh!" She blinked and brought her attention back to reality. Anna smiled warmly. "N..no! Why would I like him." She snorted slightly and picked up her mentor's plate and crossed over to her.

"Cesia.." She sighed and shook her head, as she accepted the plate, "You can't hide things from me, you know that."

The rainbow haired woman looked at the older doctor and blushed slightly, she checked that no one was looking their way and nodded once.

"I thought you would." She smiled, "You may not notice it, but you two are very compatible with each other."

"I.. don't understand.."

"Ah, well." Anna picked at her food, "In the process of our… project, we noticed that from all the people we cloned from, certain people worked better with each other. You and John, and your brothers and sisters worked well with each other, though, they were too stubborn like you are to admit that."

"So that's why we have to share a room…"

Anna blinked, "that, and I thought it would be interesting to see what happened." She smiled, "Lili and you two were the best three in clones for working together. Sadly… there was a lone wolf, who worked by themselves…"

"The red eyed phantom."

"Yes. It's a surprise that any of that man's clones survived." She shook her head, "I knew we shouldn't have used a convicts DNA…"

Cesia blinked, "Ummm…"

"Oh yes." Anna nodded getting back to the point of being compatible, "You two were also born in the year of the Tiger and Horse, both work well together."

"And the young one?" She looked towards Lili who was running her finger along her plate to collect the last of the gravy.

"The rabbit."

Cesia smiled, "I should have guessed." She sighed, then blinked, "she's how old now?" she turned towards her mentor.

"Ask her yourself!" She smiled nodding towards the girl.

"Lili, how old are you."

"I'm seven and a week and a half old." She smiled widely and put her plate down onto the tray.

"Seven and a week and a half!" Cesia chuckled, "my, my you're getting old!"

Lili beamed and she bounced towards the pod for more training. Cesia then turned once again towards Anna, "How old… is our phantom…"

"Niiro. Fear of his name only makes him stronger." Anna looked at her and wagged a finger in her face, "He would be 12."

"A dog?" she looked up.

She shook her head "No, a chicken." Cesia snickered, "Do not laugh… They are a very proud, and can be dangerous because of their powerful mind."

Her face fell, "oh. I was never one for Chinese zodiac…"

"So…. John's 20."

"Cesia's 17!"

"HA! Niiro's a chicken!"

"Maxwell, so are you." Wei snapped.

"Oh." He blinked. "Dammit."

"What would your mother say if she caught you saying those words Solo." Duo drummed his finger on the couch arm.

"Um... keep up the good work?" He smiled weakly.

"Umm…" Dorothy blinked, "aren't we all in the year of the chicken then?"

"No." Mathew pointed towards Solo, "Him and Wei are in that year."

"HA! You're a chicken too Chang!" Solo crowed (no pun intended)

Mathew sighed, "You two," he looked at Dorothy and her twin, "are in the year of the monkey, well, just. Born the day before the Chinese New year."

"And Mathew being born on the Chinese New Year…" Wei looked at him, "lucky bas..." He growled but was glared at sharply by his father, "ahem, he is in the year of the Dog, and so is Isis"

"Hey dad!" Solo blinked, "What year you in?"

Duo blinked then looked at the other guys, "umm…" he scratched his head, "I'm not too sure…"

Wufei looked up, "We're all in between the Dragon and the Horse…. Duo, I'd say you're a Horse."

"You heard him, I'm a horse." Duo smiled laughing. "Trowa, that would make you a Rabbit… right?"

Trowa shook his head, "I'm, just, in the year of Tiger."

"Lucky sod." Duo grumbled under his breath.

"Nana?" The children looked at her.

"The year of the Horse."

"Wow!" Alexander blinked, "You and Cesia have another similarity."

"I've said before master Yuy…" She sighed, "I can place myself in my own stories."

"Excellent!" Si-ming applauded as Lili walked out of the cockpit after a full three-day mission.

"I don't feel too good… Mr. Si-ming…" She looked up to him; her height was rapidly closing in on the 4'9" professor.

"..." Anna walked over to her and started checking her over. "Si-ming this girl has over worked herself!"

"True." He nodded, "You may take the rest of this day off, and the next to recuperate."

Lili smiled widely, "Yaay!" She then jogged slowly off.

"Her muscles are weakening due to no exercise." Anna looked over her shoulder to the shorter professor.

"I know. She will start some physical training after Christmas." He nodded and picked up his completed V.R helmet. "And she will also move into this in the pod."

"Good. With her age her chip will need daily examination." She nodded and sat down, "Have the designs been finalised for the suit?" She looked at him as she tinkered with a little piece of the operating system for one of the many mechanical pieces in the room.

"No. The exoskeleton is finished, so is the programming element and the power source."

"So what you're saying is that we've got a warrior with no armour or weapons."

"Correct. Though if push comes to shove it could always, in theory, give the attacker a nasty shock."

"Onii-chan!" Lili walked through the halls of the upper house, "where are you?"

A door creaked open, making the young girl jump and turn towards it. "Hello?"

"Li~li…" A voice called out to her.

"Who's there!" She moved closer towards the door. "Cesia? John?"

"Li~li…" It called out again. "I am the ghost of…" 

_Ghost?_ The girl shuddered, a hand gripped her shoulder making the girl yelp with surprise.

"WOAH!" John laughed, as he removed his hand from her shoulder, "Easy there!"

"John?" She blinked, "there's something in the closet!"

"Of course!" He smiled, "Ces~ia!" He called out lightly and the rainbow haired female walked out.

"Boo." She smiled lightly. "Hope we didn't scare you too much."

Lili shook her head. "A little... but not enough to make me cry… but why a ghost? It's near Christmas!"

John blinked, and looked at Cesia.

Cesia blinked and looked at Lili, "You're never heard of 'A Christmas Carol'?"  John shrugged, "My my.. Lili!" She sighed, "I'll get you a copy of it!"

"A book?" She blinked.

"That's right." John nodded and pulled the girl onto his back, "It's a real old Christmas story of this really grumpy old man being visited by three ghosts to save him from a terrible afterlife."

"Ghosts don't exist though…" Lili blinked as she was handed a decoration to put up in the doorway.

"Well you jumped high enough when John touched you." Cesia chuckled as she turned around from pinning up some garland.

"Hey would you look at that…" John chuckled lightly, "Lili here put up some mistletoe right above us!" He smiled mischievously.

"John!" Cesia laughed as he lent in and kissed her.

"EWWW!!!!" Lili wailed. She was still sitting on John's back. "GROSS!"

Cesia broke the kiss, "Indeed…." She looked at Lili; "Once you find a boy that you love, when your older, you'll do silly things like John here." She passed him to put up more decorations.

"Nuh uh," She shook her head, "Boys are nasty."

"Oh?" John blinked, "You don't have a problem with me…"

"That's because you're not a boy." She rested her chin on his head, "Are you 'nii-chan? Aren't you a guy?"

Cesia and John laughed lightly, "I sure am Lili."

"Professors!!!" Cesia called to the two who had disappeared somewhere in the house "Your presence is mandatory for the lighting of the Christmas tree!" She looked at John and Lili and shrugged, "I don't know where they are!"

John sighed, "Why do I have a feeling that they are planning something…"

"I wanna put the star on top!" the little girl jumped up and down holding the very delicate gold star decoration.

"We will, we will!" John placed a hand on her head, "Calm down…"

"But."

"Caaalllmm…" He looked at her.

"Fine." She pouted.

"Where are they!" Cesia crossed her arms and started tapping her foot.

_"We wish you a merry Christmas… And a happppy new year!" _Anna walked in carrying a tray of hot coco and short bread cookies. "Sorry I'm late, I had to make the coco!" She smiled and slid the tray onto the table.

"Yummy!" Lili bounced at the sight and smell of the refreshments.

"Mam." Cesia looked at her professor, "Where is Professor Si-ming?"

"Oh." She nodded, "I have a message from him, he wants you to finish the tree and go outside."

"Outside?" John blinked, "oh no… my bad feeling is back again…"

Lili squealed, "YAY! I can put the star on the tree!" In a matter of seconds, she stood on top of John's shoulders and she placed the golden decoration onto the top of the 12-foot tree.

The group applauded and Lili, after being placed on the floor ran to her hot coco.

"Well! I believe we can drink these outside to help keep up warm!"

"Lili!" Cesia sighed, "She said outside!"

"Sorry…" The girl licked her lips, "but it tastes so good!"

"Ok. So we're outside… and it's dark" John breathed out, his breath condensed.

Cesia shivered slightly, "I didn't know Colonies did this…" She hugged her coco as she sipped it.

"It's a standard piece these days." Anna nodded snug in her toque and gloves. "Make the colonies seem like earth."

"But so cold!" Cesia shivered again, and was quickly hugged by John, so that they could both be warmer.

"Yes cold." Anna sighed, "We were use to living in a warmer climate." She chuckled at the sight of the two. "Now where's little…"

"Wee!" Lili skidded along the ground on a patch of ice, which stopped suddenly making the girl loose her balance, "where's Mr. Si-ming?"

"I believe.." Anna looked at her watch, "Look at the house." She pointed towards the large building, it was fairly dark.

"Huh?" Lili blinked, "what about…. WOW!" As she had turned thousands of Christmas lights jumped into life illuminating the house beautifully. In a matter of seconds Si-ming appeared, "Mr. Si-ming! The house!"

Si-ming turned and looked at his work, "Ah yes." He nodded and pulled out a small control, he pressed a button and the thousands of lights began to flicker like stars. "Quite pleased with the work I must say." He nodded as he sipped a steaming drink from a thermos.

"Quite a display you have there…" A cold voice laughed.

Lili jumped and cowered, "that voice!"

Cesia turned around, "He's HERE!"

"Niiro." John's eyes narrowed.

"And you remember me!" Niiro laughed. A single streetlamp flickered on, he stood underneath it. He started to walk forwards.

John and Cesia moved in front of the other three.

"Don't you come any closer!" John shouted.

"Oh? Can't I join in on the festivities? I too love hot coco" He smiled darkly.

"Bastard!" Cesia snapped at him.

"So?" He shrugged; he was less than 10 meters away from the group.

"I SAID STOP MOVING!" John yelled stepping further out from the group.

"Or what." Niiro sneered, "You're gonna kill me?"

"If I must."

"You see Johnny-boy.." The young Niiro laughed, "There's a difference between you and me. Do you know what that is?" John didn't reply, but his lip twitched. "Well?" Niiro sighed, "The difference between you and me is…" he paused something flickered and John staggered, "You're dead!" The red-eyed pre-teen laughed, "Merry Christmas!" He smiled.

"JOHN!!!" Cesia ran to him and caught him as he fell back a little, a sharp dagger in his chest.

"G…o" He looked at her, "Go! I'll keep him back, you get everyone to the house…"

"No!" She looked at him through forming tears, "I can't! You said we'd fight together!"

"Cesia!" He turned and kissed her deeply, and then looked into her eyes, "Go. Not for my sake… but Lili's. She MUST live!" He pushed her off of him and pulled the dagger from his chest. "I… love you." He turned to square off with Niiro.

"NO!!" She shouted as Anna started to pull her away. "John no! Let me HELP!"

"Shh… shhh!" Anna whispered to her, "Follow his wishes, and make sure Lili stays alive!" She placed Cesia's hand over Lili's. "Go."

With tears freely flowing down her face, Cesia picked up Lili, who was also crying, and ran to the house with Si-ming. They reached the door, "Professor Mineko.." Cesia turned, "what!" She looked to see that Anna had not moved from her position but stood alongside John. "Mineko-san!" She shouted.

"Let her go." Si-ming looked at her as he closed the door, locking it. "We must get to a secure area."

-Meanwhile-

"So. Decided to fight eh banshee?" Niiro smiled, "I'll give you your Christmas present as soon as I finish with my brother. Okay?" He smiled and turned towards John. He took one quick step forwards and seemed to disappear. John had no time to react or blink, before the first blow to his back was administered. "Oh common John!" Niiro taunted, "I thought you were faster than _THAT!_" He appeared in front of the injured young man and went to attack again with his two daggers. This time John deflected both of them. "Not bad… not bad…" He chuckled.

"I'll kill you..!" John growled.

"_I'll kill you_?" Niiro mimicked him, "That's all you got? Tisk tisk tisk." The two continued fighting.

Professor Mineko stood at the sidelines taking notes on a computer device, which fed all its imputed information directly into the mainframe of the mansion. "John don't let him get to you!" she shouted to him.

"Oh?" Niiro paused and looked at her, "Get to him? Dear Banshee, what the hell do you mean by that!" he looked at her, "STOP SENDING INFORMATION!" he threw another dagger, it met directly with Anna Mineko's throat. She stood for a few seconds, "Bas…tard…" Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed backwards.

"I guess, death finally caught up with the old hag." He laughed crawly and walked up to the dead woman; he kicked her in the ribs, "See you in hell Bitch." He spit on her face and pulled the dagger from her throat. Turning he charged John again. Within a few slashes John had become a target, Niiro had severed all nerves between his arms and his brain rendering them useless. "I though you would last a little longer than this old boy!" He laughed again.

"I'm still standing bastard." John growled.

"Not for long." He smiled and picked up the computer device Anna was using, "well!" he smiled, "Look here! A recording device!" He smiled and selected it. He started videoing the defenceless John. "Look-ey here." He spoke to the camera, "Johnney-wonny, is hurt ever so bad… Should I put him out of his misery?" He dipped the camera so that it was nodding yes. "I should?" He smiled, "Any last words?" he looked at John.

"Heartless bastard…. I'm ashamed that I called you my brother! I hop you rot in the lowest of all the hells!"

"Times up!" Niiro smiled he placed the camera down, still recording and he attacked for that last time, slaughtering the young man. "Rest in pieces…" Niiro picked up the camera and focused in on John, "literarily." 

Dorothy and Isis sniffed, "Why!? WHY NANA?!" The two looked up to the old woman tears in their eyes, "Why did John have to die!"

Nana sighed, "He was protecting the ones he loved."

"He died honourably." Wei nodded.

"Ya know, Ya gotta kinda feel sorry for Si-ming." Solo nodded.

"Oh? And why's that?" Mathew looked at him.

"Well… One, the dude's just lost his assistant, and adopted son, John. And he also lost Mineko-san."

Duo nodded, "Yeah.. I feel sorry for Lili."

"You would." Wufei looked at him, "You always side with the orphans."

"Mr. Chang. He does have a point." Isis looked at him, "She just lost her brother, almost exactly the way her dream told her."

Duo then stuck out his tongue at his friend, "neeaah!"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Kuro-boshi: well there we go… Another Chapter done.

*John's Ghost floats in*

John's Ghost: You fuggin killed me off!

K.B: In order for the story to move along you **_had_** to go!

John's Ghost: BUT IN THE SECOND CHAPTER?

K.B: Umm… sure! *Smiles sweetly* I don't plan on making this story that long you know.

Cesia: *wailing* you killed off my one true love!!!

K.B: Are you aiming to make me feel bad?

Lili: Yes. *sniff sniff*

Niiro: I had fun!

*Is quickly attacked by the entire cast*

K.B: At least one of you did! *Receives death glares* eh heh.. 

            JA NE!

Prof. Anna Mineko's Ghost: Everyone ignores the fact that I'm dead…

Cast: Okay!

*Proff. A. Mineko's Ghost disappears with a puff of smoke*

K.B: I hope she doesn't haunt my bathroom… (Like moaning myrtle in Harry Potter)

Si-ming: Review. If you know what's good for you.


	3. Excape into the Darkness

Shadow: well, another chapter winging its way to you now. Sorry for the delay… I've had _business_ to take care of…

Stories in the Dark

-=-=-=-=-=-

Chapter 3 – 

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Pu… pu… puddle of…" Lili's pupils shrunk to the size of pinheads, "B… bl.. blood…"

"Get her away from there!" Si-ming roared at Cesia, "Do you want her to become unstable?"

With a swift guiding hand Cesia swept the little girl away from the large screen, and towards the professor who was hastily packing things.

"S.. sir?" She looked at him.

"Pass me that helmet on your right," He growled as he continued to pack things into a bullet shaped compartment.

"Sure." She passed him the helmet.

"We're getting away as fast, and as quickly as possible… Knowing Niiro and his internal programming, he'll be in the house in a matter of minutes." He turned, his once calm face was now displaying the simplest emotion. Fear. "Lili my dear..." He held out his arms she walked forwards but did not embrace him. "Thing have gone very, very wrong, and I'm afraid that…"

"I'm going back to the orphanage aren't I…" He eyes didn't meet his as her head was hanging, "You never wanted me around in the first place…"

"Lili…" Cesia choked back tears from both the loss of her dear friends and the immensely cold tone of her voice.

"I am. Aren't I." She looked up, her once blue eyes were now green, with furry.

Si-ming was taken back, "Yes my dear, only for now. I will explain to the..."

"Don't bother." Her eyes narrowed, "They'll figure it out. You never cared for me…"

"Don't you dare think that…!" Cesia snapped, "oh. Sorry stepped over my boundaries…" She returned to her quiet self and continued to pack while Si-ming dealt with the situation.

"Lili." He glared at her, "by now you should have figured out that you are no ordinary girl, you feel it within you don't you, the everlasting power just underneath the surface of your skin." The young girl looked up. The crystal clear eyes clouding over, confusion was now written on her face. "You don't know how to explain that feeling, it's almost like there is another person inside of you at times… taking over..,"

She nodded dumbly. 

"I won't be sending you away unless I have to, you're very valuable to me, you're my daughter."

The green eyes were fading back to their blue, tears started to swell and dribble down her face. The old man raised one hand and whipped away the tears with his thumb.

"Now" He stood up, "Would you do us the honors and pilot us away Miss. Lili?"

"You're… You're letting her pilot?" Cesia looked up, the bullet shaped capsule was now loading into a personal shuttle.

"She is a pilot. And she has been trained. Its time she had a practical." He stood up and picked up a large metal Brief case, holding Lili's hand they walked up to the main door on the shuttle.

"Woo yeah!" Solo punched the air, "She's gonna fly!"

"Nana.. How could a child so young, pilot?" Wei looked up at the woman, there was no question in his eyes, only furry.

"If you knew that her, you would be able to understand." She replied calmly. "Swiftly in a matter of seconds…"

"Everything's secured sir." Cesia called from the back as she made her way to the front.

"Good." He nodded, "Lili, start it up."

"Okay…" She blinked and flicked a few buttons, the three small engines kicked into life.

"Now, in front of you there is an underground passage, its tight, but navigational." He belted himself in, so did Cesia in her back seat. "The tunnel goes downwards and through the colony, to pop out from a unused dock which I purchased."

"Right." She nodded.

"Be on your guard, Niiro will be following after us, and will not be pleased that we left the party so early." He spoke more towards Cesia, "there are not many weapons, apart from the main gun on the hull of the ship. If we need to use it."

The two females nodded, and Lili did the last of the pre-flight checkups. The shuttle wobbled as it lifted off into the air lightly and started moving forwards.

"Si-ming, sir.." Cesia whispered so not to distract the girl, "How can she pilot if she can not see over the dashboard?"

"Part of her basic training… during one part of the course all visuals were removed, and she piloted on Radar alone."

"But," She gasped lightly, "there are no mobile suits to show where she is meant to head!"

"True." He nodded, "But the program did not use GPS."

"A Global Positioning System?" She blinked, "can we trust such old technology?"

"We don't have to trust it, she does. All we have to do is trust her." Si-ming replied curtly, "Now hush. Don't distract her."

Inside the young mind of Lili a battle was being fought for control, man against machine. The D chip being the better of the two 'brains' was quickly earning dominance over the young mind. Electric pulses ran through her body as the D chip 'absorbed' the information of the shuttle, but most effort was spent on the production of mental sonar from the GPS unit. The mind of Lili gave in and the computer chip took over fully and flew swiftly though the labyrinth of a tunnel.

"Sir… how is she doing this… We haven't even scratched the wing tips…"

"Cesia, there is something surprisingly strange about this girl. You know that if the D chip activated itself early, the host would turn insane, just as Niiro did."

"Yes. I pity all my brothers and sisters who fell because of that."

"Well, take a good look at Lili." He nodded towards her with closed eyes, "Her D Chip is active, and its that, not her, flying us through this."

The young woman gasped, "She'll be insane!"

"Not unless she can master the chip. If she lets it activate whenever it deems to do so, she will fall like the others. But there is one thing the others did not have."

"What?"

"Me." He smiled, and pat the briefcase at his feet, "And my technology. With it, I will be able to help her control the gift she was given."

"Oh." She blinked, "Profess…" The shuttle jolted violently to the left. "What was that!" She jumped in her seat, "what did we hit!"

Si-ming growled and turned towards Lili, "Status?"

"Approximately two thousand and fifty meters and closing till our designated target, arrival time two minutes unhindered." Lili replied lifelessly as she adjusted a few switches, "Though if we want the ship to remain intact, the speed should be decreased in order to navigate the debris."

"Debris?" Si-ming rubbed his chin, "What is this debris?"

"Scanners indicate that it is a mixture of wood, iron and various other things." She replied and turned slightly, "Sir? Should we decrease the speed or shall I plough through?"

"Keep to the top of the tunnel Lili, but do not decrease our speed, raise it to regulation space travel speed."

"Sir."

"Uh.. Si-ming sir?" Cesia blinked, "What.. What are we doing?"

Si-ming ignored her, "and prepare the airlock for immediate departure."

"Already configured, it will open within 10 seconds of our arrival…."

"Woah, woah, woah…" Mathew looked up, "what type of tunnels are they traveling through?!"

Nana looked at her charge, "Well, technically speaking they weren't meant to have existed, when the colonies were being made, they designed them so that if anything top secret had to be moved…"

"Nana," Isis looked up, "You're lying."

"Ah! Caught me!" She chuckled, "Well, they were service tunnels from when the colony was being made. Afterwards most were used for things like fuel, emergency food and the armed forces… stuff like that. Si-ming somehow got his hands on one of the tunnels, and built it as a private track for his shuttle."

"But…how…"

"Solo, I do not know. It's the magic of the story. Now why cant you three be like the Yuy twins and be quiet…" She smiled sweetly, "Just like Lili said they were out in two minutes…."

"Ok. So we're now out of the colony" Cesia sighed, "What are we doing now?"

"Moving of course my dear girl." Si-ming turned towards Lili, "Turn the ship around full, and cut all power."

"Yes sir." Lili did so in a matter of seconds, her eyes faded back to their normal blue. "Eh?" she looked around, "What are we doing?"

Si-ming pulled out a detonator from his pocket, "Destroying evidence my dear girl.." He pressed the plunger and…

"Nooooo!!!" Isis screamed and slammed her hands to her ears.

"HUH?" Both of the Yuy twins jumped.

"Isis-chan?" Dorothy rested her hand on her friend's shoulder, "Are you ok?"

"He's going to blow them up!" She screamed as she hugged her Arabian father tighter.

Nana rolled her eyes, "No he's not…" she sighed, "If he was this story would have been rather bad."

"Well YEAH!" Duo shouted, "oops sorry… got-in into the story too much... heh." 

"Daad, you're sooo weird.." Solo sighed.

Mathew nodded, "hey dad.." he turned towards Trowa, "Can you loosen your grip on my shoulder slightly… I know you don't like yelling…"

"Oh. Sorry." Trowa's hand retracted from his son's young shoulder, and the boy automatically started rubbing life back into it.

"I mean, its not as if we're talking about Mom." Matt laughed lightly.

Solo blinked and looked up at his very weird father, then at Mr. Barton, "Though…" he chewed the inside of his cheek, "Your dad and My dad reacted as if it was your mom…"

Trowa raised an eyebrow and looked at the young Maxwell, and then to Maxwell Senior, who was also looking at his son.

Nana smiled, "And what if I said I was talking about Matt's Mom?"

Matt laughed and was joined in by the rest of the youths. "Ya mean Duette..? That kid?"

"It's Mrs. Barton, Alexander. Not Duette."

"Hey she tells us to call her that." Dorothy countered.

"Your mother would not approve of that." Heero stated.

"Ah relax He-man!" Duo laughed, "Its not like they're doing any harm by calling her Duette." He looked at Alexander and winked.

Nana smirked, "Well, why do you say that Duette can't be this Lili girl?!"

The group was silent. For a few moments, the adults stayed quiet, most smiling lightly.

"Well she's not very smart.."

"HEY! Watch it Chang! That's my mom!" Mathew jumped to his feet; Trowa calmly dragged him back down to the chair, before he glared at the Changs.

"Her eyes don't change colour." Isis stated.

"true. Anything else?" Nana questioned.

"Well... she's too nice!" Solo snapped out.

Nana nodded, "You're right.. All these things point towards her not being Lili… yet still you said that I'm Cesia, just because I have two different coloured eyes… interesting." She sighed. 

"But you're different!"

"Oh? How so?" Nana rested her chin on her hand looking over to the young Maxwell.

"Ww..Well… um… your hair!"

"My hair..?" she blinked, "Yes, its silver. Cesia's was rainbow… true."

"No one has naturally rainbow hair, it was died." Wei folded his arms, "You still may by her."

Dorothy pouted, "I thought this was a fictional story…"

The adults in the room paused momentarily and the ex-pilots looked towards the woman known as Nana.

"Ah, well… err…" she stood up and crossed over to a window and looked out. A solitary meteor shot past. "Its not."

_You mean the D chip actually did exist? _Alexander looked up at the nanny, _Just how does she know this story…_

"Valid questions Alex…" She chuckled turning around, "I guess I'll have to explain myself. Later though because…

*Ring, ring* 

*Bzzzzst bzzzst*

*De-del-di-dee*

*Det-det-de-de-di-det-det-deee*

*Ring, ring, ring… ring, ring, ring phone call phone call..*

"Huh?" the five pilots looked up hearing five different phone rings.

Duo blinked, "woaah, 5 calls at the same time!"

"I don't think so." Nana laughed and pointed her finger towards the now unfolding videophone screen on top of the mantle.

The screen flickered.

"Yo!" 

"D?" "Duette?" "Mom?" "HI!"

Duette looked around the room from her screen, "Woah.. There a family meeting which we weren't told about?" her face stilled from its laughing, "something wrong at home?"

"No, No, Duette dearest…" Nana stood up and stepped out in front, "Just telling the kiddies a story."

"…. And since when were the old fogies in the back kiddies?" she winked, "hey Hun." She waved lightly smiling. "So Nana, telling the story about the space pirate?"

"Last week mom."

"Oh." She blinked, "the one about the colony races?"

"Yesterday Duette." Isis smiled.

"I though we told you…"

"Hey hey, Quat!" Duette brought her face closer to the screen as she glared down Quatre, "I let the kids call me by my name." She paused momentarily as she thought, "Hmm, what could you be telling them about… no.. My wedding.. Are you?"

"Ooh!" Duo laughed, "That's a great one!"

"That's because you made that happen, baka." Heero snorted.

"no no, not any of them, though… the smirked looking back at the group, "the wedding one IS rather good… but another day." She looked back at Duette, "I'm telling a story about a young girl…

"Hey you sure Rosie would like you telling her life story?"

"Who was an orphan…"

Duette stopped her laughing, "uh... oh…"

Duo lent over to Trowa's ear, "we are so dead when she gets back…" the clown nodded silently.

"Yeah mom! Its really coool! We just met the bad guy his name's.."

"…Niiro! He's a wicked bad guy! Just slaughtered…" Wei added in.

"…Two people… oh! It was terrible!" Dorothy shook her head.

"And then there's the crazy old scientist guy named…"

"Si-Ming."  Duette sighed.

"Uh. Yeah." Solo blinked after getting cut off by Duette, "you heard the story?"

"umh." She nodded. "Well.. Nana…" she flipped on a pair of sunglasses quickly as she looked up to the group.

"Wow… that got her worked up… I haven't seen her put on the shades in years…" Duo blinked.

"Nana… I'll speak to you later about this." She turned slightly, "Oh and Duo, I heard that. " turning fully she waved, mumbling, "doppelganger out."

"Uh. Well then." Nana sighed and sat back down, "that went better than I.." the power flickered and cut out, leaving the light from the fireplace, "… expected…"

"Woah." The kids blinked, "How did the power go out?"

Isis blinked, "Daady, you said that the power would never go out because of the back up generators and advanced circuitry…"

Quatre looked around, "the power's not out… the circuit to the lighting was disconnected."

"How is that possible?"  Wei blinked, "I thought that this place was impenetrable…"

"Oh. It is lil' Wei…  it is." Duo stood up and looked out the window, the rest of the lights were on for the lower and upper floors. "I think its safe to say that things were re routed… the system believes that there in no second floor lighting…"

"Dad." Solo looked at him, "They'd have to be a 1st class hacker to do that… and why would anyone want to cut out power for one floor?"

"To tell us that she's here…"

"Who? Who's here?"

"The spirit of Lili."  Trowa finished off.

"Now... let us continue out story… in the dark."__

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

KB – Well… I got no where in the last few pages…

Duette *still wearing sunglasses* - Its too dark with these one.. can't I take 'em off?

KB – no… not yet.

Duette – Fiddlesticks! *takes off glasses*

*choom*

Duette – why did the power just go out…

KB – eh heh… no reason! Well folks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Stories in the Dark!

Duette – Yesh.. now it really is a story in the dark. Hrrumph *sulks*

Duo *with flashlight* – read and review! *waves*


	4. The Return

Kuro-Boshi: Well well.... Look what I dragged in... myself! Sorry for the delay and all... but Eagle, my lovely demonic computer who probably runs off the D chip as a processor decided to go nitsy and delete all my lovely files! I've also had school and exams to worry about. Not to mention I moved house and lost the Internet for a while...

Now.. on with the show!

------- indication of story / real time switch

"W...wait...!" Isis blinked, "the... spirit of Lili?" her lip quivered "she's not... dead... is she?"

"Er, Ic-y, I'd be more worried if she was alive... and anywhere near us...." Mathew gulped, "She's been trained by scientists... she's got a strange computer chip in her head... and she can do this?!"

"True man.. true..." Solo 'shivered' "1st class hackers can work from a distance of the target, though havin our parents being our parents.."

"Hey, we're not that bad.." Duo pouted,

"..." Solo shook his head slightly, "Anyone trying to hack us would have to know the strange layout of the wiring, outlets, power sources, and.. waiit..."

Nana looked up, "Did something dawn on Duo Jr.?" she chuckled lightly.

"None of our electrical are networked... or in that matter connected to anything other than electricity..."

"She must have set things previously..." Alexander concluded.

"Dude, no." Solo shook his head, "Unless she's been here when this house was made the only way she could get in was if she..."

"... died...." Dorothy gripped onto her father, "daaddyy!!! I don't like ghosts!"

Nana sipped at her new cup of tea watching the shadows play off the faces of the newly frightened youngsters, and the faces of the fathers, who weren't afraid, but looked more concerned with their present situation. She couldn't help but smile, the power cut aided to her story, showing the power of the D-chip, and fear.

"waiit..."

Nana's smirk was paused when her two-toned eyes fell upon Wei. The one with the most common sense out of the next generation of 'gundam guys (and girls!)'

"what-o Wei-wei?" she blinked.

"Did I hear wrong... or did Mrs. Barton say something along the lines of 'doppelganger out'?"

"Ah." She nodded, "You most likely did hear her say that. It was a name given to her long ago..." The group fell silent. "... she was quite the copy cat and mimicked very well, you would think that she was a 3D shadow of someone." The pre-teens blinked looking at her, she smiled into her mug and then looked at them again, "How about we continue..."

----

"Destroying evidence my dear girl.." He pressed the plunger and the door which Lili had hacked into to open, snapped shut, within the colony though, Professor Si-ming's laboratory, underneath his estate house suddenly imploded, destroying the entire secret floor, along with anything inside it. Including the possibility of Niiro.

"Sir, what... do we do now." Cesia looked up to the man hopefully as he walked towards Lili.

"Lili, I believe you wanted to see the other colonies, correct?" He was answered with a nod as the little girl looked up at him, "Choose a colony then dear."

"Uhm..." she paused thinking for a second remembering what John-'nee-chan told her on her birthday not too long ago, "Our sister colony..."

"L2?" Si-ming frowned slightly and shrugged, "Sure. Put it into the computer and the ship will auto pilot us there."

With the co-ordinates pre programmed into the ship, it turned around full and sped off towards the colony.

At the very same time of their arrival in the colony, a group of thieves were the annoyance of all the market vendors. It just happened to be the same group Lili was destined to meet.

-----

"Now, doesn't this remind me of someone." Duo chuckled lightly.

The rest of the room looked at him and hushed him.

-----

"I'll be staying here?!" Lili looked up to the large looming building in front of her.

"Yes Lili, for the time being." Cesia nodded, "Mr. Si-ming has some business to complete and it would be in your best interest to gain some 'out of family' people skills.

Lili looked up, her nose wrinkled, "but... why a church?"

Si-ming walked out of the front doors with a young looking woman, who was a nun. "Lili, this is the woman who will be looking after you, her name is Sister Helen."

"Hello." Lili smiled lightly up towards the older female.

"Well, you know our situation Sister, so we will be leaving my dear girl with you for a little while." Si-ming nodded gratefully and pat Lili on the head, "Behave nicely, and..." he lent closer, "Try not to tell much about yourself."

"ok..." The girl nodded and took the outreaching hand of Sister Helen. At the top of the stairs, she turned seeing her only family walk off leaving her once more in the hands of an orphanage.

"Sister Helen?"

The sister looked up, and replied, "Father?".

"Ah there you are my dear," he smiled coming around the corner, "Young Du... is..." he blinked seeing Lili, he then turned around and looked in the direction he arrived from, "Sister, how, may I ask, did the lad..."

"Ah!" Helen gasped her hand rising to her mouth, "Oh, forgive me father, this is young Lili, she looks remarkably like Duo, doesn't she."

"Incredibly like Duo." He chuckled lightly, "Well now, another orphan I see? My, my, with this war there sure are quite a few homeless young ones..."

"Sister Helleeeennn!!!" the pitter-patter of feet hitting the marble floor came closer and closer to the group. "Sister!! Duo hit me!"

"Oh my..." She sighed.

"He started it!" a messy brown haired child ran around the corner and skidded to a stop, "He made me do it!"

Lili blinked looking at the boy, the one she believed named Duo. "Sister...?" She tugged at the woman's sleeve, "why does that boy look like me?"

Sister Helen smiled lightly and touched her shoulder, then attended to the child, which 'Duo' had punched in the face. After the child went home, after all he was taking bible lessons from the Father of Maxwell church, she turned towards the young trouble maker as she redid his hair into a braid, "Duo, what did that child do for you to hit him so?"

Pouting Duo clenched his fists, "He said that I'd never find a home, that the reason why I'm always sent back is because I'm a demon."

"Oh my..." she sighed and hugged him lightly. Lili looked through a crack in the door at Duo and Sister Helen, pushing the door open so that she could slip in.

"A girl at my old orphanage said that too." she sat on the bench next to Duo, who looked at her. "But I found Mr. Si-ming. And he kept me." She blinked as Sister Helen began brushing out her messy ponytail, "Its not much of a family though..."

"So." Duo blinked playing with his braid, "You're 'a demon' too?"

"No." she looked at him as Sister Helen began fixing her hair, "I was called the little hell raiser, and crazy." She snorted, "but I showed them..." her eyes became darker, "I'll show everybody."

"Alright!" Sister Helen smiled finishing the two braids. "Now we will be able to tell you two apart! Duo with one braid, and Lili with two!"

Later on that evening, the two new friends, Duo and Lili were getting ready for bed, when...

"Lili?"

"Hmm mmh?" She looked up brushing her teeth, at Duo.

"If Mr. Si-ming adopted you... why are you here then?" He rinsed his toothbrush and put it back in its spot.

"Well..." she blinked washing off her brush as well, "Mr. Si-ming needs some time to work things out... so he placed me here for a while.."

"Oh." He blinked as he crawled into bed, "Well, goodnight Lili."

"Pleasant Dreams...Duo." Lili crawled out of her bed and crossed over to the window. Sitting on the window ledge, she sat watching the lights, until she too fell asleep.

Lili had only stayed there for less than a month, when Cesia showed up again at the doors of the church.

"Do come again Lili!" Sister Helen waved at the doors.

Lili smiled sadly, for the entire day, she had not seen Duo. He had overheard the conversation of the phone between Sister Helen and Cesia the pervious night, and was gone in the morning.

"Why so glum Lili?" Cesia looked down at her 'little sister' as she was guiding her away from the Church.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to Duo..." She frowned, "It hurts to say goodbye."

Cesia nodded, "It does hurt to say goodbye, that's why you say 'see you again', or 'until next time'"

"But...I'll never see him again..."

"Never see who again?!" A scruffy boy with a long braid slid around a corner, "me?"

"Duo!" She smiled dropping Cesia's hand and hugged the boy, "Sister Helen had a fit when you weren't in your bed!"

"Well..." Duo sniffed, "I had to get something."

"Oh?" she blinked stepping back as Duo pulled out a little box from his pocket.

"Here."

"For me?" She picked up the little box from his open hand. "Really?"

"Yup." He nodded. "Open it!" he smiled.

Lili smiled brightly and opened the box; inside there was a silver cross, "wow... pretty." She picked up the chain.

"Yeah, I picked it out myself. Sister Helen gave me the money for it."

Putting it around her neck she hugged Duo, "thanks! I'll remember you and the church always!"

Duo smiled, "See ya around Lili."

"Yeah." She smiled, "See ya around."

-----

"Wow. You actually met Lili when she was younger Mr. Maxwell?"

"Yeah. Though I didn't remember her. I had a lot on my mind a few months later..." Duo nodded.

"Did you ever actually see her again dad?"

"Oh, I'm sure I did, though, she was never the same little girl I met in the past. Her name changed many times... Lili, Dorothy-J..." Trowa nudged him quite sharply with his elbow stopping his memories.

Nana looked at Duo, "Now who's telling the story, Duo. Hm?"

".... You... ma'am." Duo mumbled slightly.

"Now, years had passed since Lili stayed at the Church...."

-----

"Doppelganger, where are you going." Si-ming looked up as the 'Doppelganger' flipped out of her pod.

"Its 4.25 pm, Wednesday afternoon, official training end, allowing me five minutes to ready myself for my run." She turned looking at Si-ming though her specially designed helmet.

"Alright." He nodded. "Make sure you bring the weights this time. You may be as quick as a rabbit, but I need you to be as strong as a dragon too."

"Sure." She nodded and walked quickly towards her room, her double braids swinging behind her.

"Sir, you do know that it's the sixth year since the Maxwell Church Tragedy..." A black haired woman walked out of another room and closed the door. "What if she decides to..."

"Cesia, if she decides to do anything it will go against her precise schedule which she keeps to as if her life depended on it. She hasn't done anything in the last five years, I'm sure she wont do anything now."

"I'm ready to go." The proud owner of the only functional D chip stood at the open door wearing her favourite running clothes, black pants and a grey ratty t-shirt, with of course, her 'lucky charm' the necklace given to her from an orphan, whom she had forgotten the name of because of her training. "I will be back in a few hours." With that she was gone with a light breeze.

"That girl has gotten fast over the years." Cesia shook her head slightly as she closed the door after her.

"Yes, she has a faster reaction and movement time than John's. Though she never picked up your ability to read people as well as you do." Si-ming chuckled still plugging away at the computer. "Would you be a good girl and fetch me a quick snack, I'm afraid I wont be able to make it to dinner tonight."

"Yes sir." She nodded and left the man to his work.

"From the calculations I've gathered from the other distinguished people this should suit the D chips purpose quite well." Si-ming sat back watching his calculations take the form of a humanoid figure, "My fellow mad scientists from university would be amazed at the beauty of this masterpiece." He continued working plugging in more equations each time, the figure edited itself to maintain a perfect balance. "Though...." He stopped once more in his design of the mobile suit. "Her favourite suit is a flight type... this one has enough thrust to maintain flight... but its body does not account for it..." he pulled out a rather large roll, and rolled it out onto the long table beside him. Getting up he ran his fingers along the blueprint until he reached the crucial point. "This suit will need wings..."

"Wings sir? Cesia appeared with his snack like dinner and a coffee, "Why not reduce its mass by getting rid of the armour here," she pointed to the arms, "and here," she pointed towards the legs. "Since this has enough speed, it will be able to dodge most attacks, and the reduced weight, can be added to a wing like thrusters system on the back."

"Excellent idea."

"Though, if you made the wings solid, you could somehow make this suit transform into something like a fighter jet."

"I'll think about that, Cesia. Thank you." He nodded and returned to his computer.

Meanwhile, Lili had run quarter the length of the distance between the 'new house' and the ruins of the Maxwell church. As she was nearing it, she passed by a circus; she paused to look at the tigers.

"What are you doing!" A young woman came up shouting at her, "Get away from them!"

Taking this as a hostile situation, Lili took off like the wind and continued her run.

"What a strange girl..." the young brown haired circus girl watched the girl disappear before returning to perfecting her act of knife throwing.

"Six years..." she finally stopped running when she reached the old gates of the church. "Six years since I've stayed here, six years since I received this, six years since I last saw everyone..." She stood holding her cross.

"You, uh, came here often?"

"No, I only visited for a little while..." She let go of her cross. "It's a shame it burnt down."

"It wasn't burnt down, it was attacked by a bunch of idiots."

She shook her head, "Why attack a Church." She gripped her fists, and her eyes flickered green. "I'll show them... I'll show everyone..." With that she bent down and created a little shrine out of the rubble, picking up two sticks she bound them together in the shape of a cross, planting it in the rubble she then turned her heal and left.

The other person looked at the mound. "Wow, one mound for every year." He noted the several piles. The last formed the final part of a large cross. The last of the ones made, he bent down and looked at it. "What's this..?" he picked up the wooden stick cross. "She... used a silver necklace..." he ran his finger along it, "looks like she broke something off it" he rubbed his finger against the tip of the metal, standing up, he looked towards where the girl ran, "See ya. Lili." He tipped his cap, and the older Duo turned and walked off the other way.

-----

"So, Si-ming, is creating some sort of mobile suit." Alexander nodded, "judging from what he and Cesia were talking about, it sounds like something dad would pilot."

"Indeed it does Alex." Nana nodded.

"Hey dad, do you still have the chain and part of the necklace you gave her?"

"Nope." Duo shook his head, "Gave it away."

"Aww man...." Matthew sighed, "That would have been soo cool..."

"Hey now. I didn't say I gave it away to someone I'd never see again." Duo laughed.

"So... who has it?!" Solo jumped up.

"Nana, care to show them your 'collection'...?" He smirked slightly as the old woman got up and crossed over to a cupboard.

"You mean this collection?" she smirked and opened the double doors. Inside was like a mini shrine to Lili, among other people. The kids got up and shuffled over.

"Woah.. Nana, you're like... obsessed." Dorothy and Isis blinked looking at all the items.

"Can... we say stalker?" Solo chuckled.

"What was in that jar." Wei pointed to an empty glass canister in the centre of a shelf.

"Ah." She blinked looking at it, "that would be the case for the prototype D-chip."

"Well... where is it?!" Isis put her hands on her hips.

"I never found out where it went."

"Nana... why is there a shirt...?" Solo blinked poking it.

"That was John's."

"Aww cutie! This jacket is adorable!" Dorothy cooed at the small bomber jacket, "this was Lili's birthday gift... right?"

"It was." A voice said from behind them. "I'm surprised you kept all that stuff.... Cesia."

Duo sunk into the couch muttering, "Saints preserve marmalade... they're at it again!"(1). Trowa too shifted slightly, the other pilots decided to sit as still as possible... maybe she wouldn't see them

The children turned to see the door burst open and a bright light flood in, only for it to be blocked out by a single silhouette, with two long braids. The hall light behind the braided one flickered then popped, the room once again drowning in darkness, apart from one thing, a bright green glow.

"...Cesia..?!" Matt blinked, then looked up at Nana. "You... you really are her...?" At that time he looked at her eyes, one was glowing purple. He and the others quickly backed away,

Solo managed to mutter one thing, "Eep."

Isis shuddered, as Dorothy squealed, "ghost!"

"No." Nana shook her head, "she's no ghost, that's the real deal. The perfect experiment. The only ruler of the D-chip."

"You kept a lot of things there." Doppelganger glared at her.

"A story like this must be passed on." Nana/Cesia returned.

"Oh? As well as this technology?" she pointed towards her head, "I would have thought you among anyone would be against this story since you were part of this whole monstrosity.'

"The future will only make the same mistakes as the past, if the past is unlearnt."

"But why focus on me!" Her voice was straining, as she smashed the door with her fist.

"Doppelganger, it looks like you need a check up on that chip of yours. You're becoming unstable just like N.."

"Don't." Her voice became venomous, "say." Her eyes flared brighter, "his." She stood to her full height, "name!"

"Fear of the name will only add to his power.." Wei looked up at the being known as Doppelganger.

"Y..Yeah."

"Yuup."

"Last time I checked, you were no where near this house."

"Its amazing what happens when you have the right amount of motivation." The voice laughed. "I told you I didn't want my story known. Especially to these... children."

"Hey! We're not that bad!" Solo retorted.

"These children, are children of the greatest soldiers during the AC 195 and 196 battles. I will not risk these kids lives for their feelings of hate directed towards, him."

"Something tells me..." Duo muttered to the other pilots, "that the D gal knows more about something than we do."

"You see kiddos," Nana looked at them, "Lili here has still not taken revenge for what has happened because of Niiro." She looked up at the shadow, "Though she possesses the greatest technology anyone could ever attain, it has not allowed her true satisfaction of killing her own kind," she looked darkly at her, "Right now, since I've been telling you this story, her anger for Niiro has tripled, and I haven't even gotten to when Mr. Si-ming met with an..."

"My priorities are straight. You must either stop this 'story' of yours and never speak of it again and destroy all these things, or I must," she reached back with her arms and drew out two bladed tonfas, "stop you."

"You see," Nana stood strong, looking and sounding more like Cesia in the story by the second, "Si-ming had designed several suits. One for each of the clone groups. A dragon, a tiger, a turtle and a phoenix. Though these designs were incomplete, Niiro need only attain them and the solar system would fall into his unstable hands." Doppelganger was now warming up her arms readying to 'stop' the story at all costs.

"Oh heck." Duo gulped, and jumped towards the kids followed by Quatre who scuttled over, then led them over to the rest of the pilots.

"Uh, Trowa... could you... possibly deal with her?" Quatre looked at him pleading. "I rather not have a bloody battle and let the kids witness a murder."

Heero stood and drew his gun aiming at the threat.

Nana against everything continued the story, a little rushed, but to the point.

---

But as all things, time passes... Lili grew to become a great and fearsome warrior, fitting for the Dragon Gundam, as it was called. During AC195 and 196, the Doppelganger struck, working in the shadows of the five Gundam pilots, working on the inside to bring the outside down... though she didn't account for one thing. Niiro.

---

Duo looked at Heero and heard him cock his gun then looked at Trowa, "God, Trowa I think he means it this time." He hovered closer, "Unless you want to explain to Matt and the kids what happened to his mom... I'd suggest you use your animal charming magic of yours, and cool her down."

---

The battles finished and she herself breathed easily. She began the life of a civilian, her Gundam suit never too far from her, as it follows the chip in her mind. But once again a year or so after beginning to settle down into a sleepy comfortable life, the red eyed phantom once again reared his head.

---

"God dammit Nana... Cesia! Stop!" Wufei shouted at her, "D'll kill you for sure!"

Wei looked up, having the sharpest ears of the kids he heard Duo's frantic hiss, then his own father's reference of 'D'. _That's Matt's mother?! _He studied the shadowy woman with the green eyes. "It fits her... only.."

"Wei.. what ya muttering?" Solo popped beside him.

"that woman. From that stance, height and everything you see apart from the eyes, who does it remind you of?"

The children were silent watching the woman.

"..Mom..?" Matt blinked.

Doppelganger's fluid movements hitched hearing Matt speak.

"Who is the only one who can sneak around this house unheard and undetected." Wei asked again,

"Dad.." Matt answered,

"My dad," Solo answered,

"an', Due-, err, Mrs. Barton. " Isis answered.

"Who helped design the house." Wei asked now counting the times the name 'Duette' appeared in the answer.

"My dad." Isis replied,

"Her dad's helper people..." Dorothy answered.

"Duette." Alex answered.

"Right. She knows every piece of the house, the only one who can sneak around, and fits that physical description." Wei concluded. "the only thing wrong is her eyes. They're blue not ..."

"Her eyes do change colour." Matt said quietly. "When she's really happy or sad, they turn to a greenish colour..."

Doppelganger twitched and lunged forwards, using her advanced speed, she became a human whirlwind, wildly slashing at anything around her. Nana Cesia having a non active chip, could barely manage to dodge the attacks, but even then she was hit several times, but continued the story.

---

Though after all these years of having the Gundam by her side, and having once again a close call with Niiro several times, she was never able to destroy her darkness. Niiro wanted to be unique, he bent his mind and soul searching and planning for the day he would meet up with us. Still she never learnt of a secret Si-ming had planted, my reason for still existing on this plane....

---

Matt stepped forward and looked at Trowa, "Dad, don't tell me that... that's mom."

Trowa looked down at him in the darkness. He didn't have to say a word.

"That's..." Matt's breathing hitched, "my mom?! .... Lili's... my Mom?!.... THAT PSYCHO'S... MY MOM?!"

Cesia blinked, the pattern of attack had changed and every time Matt said something, the attack hitched. She also noted that they were becoming less powerful, slower, and even the wild glow of her eyes was burning out. But though she was no longer using inhuman strength and speed, her aim, and natural strength and speed was a force to contend with.

He pointed towards Doppelganger. "All this time.." tears began to form in his eyes, "Mom has a computer chip in her head... all this time... I've been looked after by mom's 'older sister'... all this time and I didn't know my mom could be something like.. like this!?"

(1) thank you Dr. Megalomaniac! That quote was used in her story 'Gundammit' if you want a good read, a good laugh, and don't mind a little shonen-ai, and a Gundam Wing setting, I recommend this.


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